Picks By Pat

Beat the Heat with these Cold-Blooded Killers

2010-09-20T11:30:00.013-06:00

If you're looking forward to autumn after a scorching summer, get ready for the cooler weather with some icy tales of murder by Mary Logue, Vicki Delaney and Tess Gerritsen.

Mary Logue continues the Claire Watkins series with Frozen Stiff, and it's a chiller in more ways than one. Daniel Walker, wintering in his Wisconsin vacation home, is celebrating his latest business scam with a hot sauna followed by a quick roll in the snow. But when he returns to the house, the door is locked...from the inside. Perhaps he isn't as alone as he thought, even though he recently dumped his second wife and his daughter is back in St. Paul. The next day, his frozen body is found by his returning spouse and Claire soons finds herself investigating what may be an accident, or may be something more. And considering the number of enemies Mr. Walker has made, she's suspicious. The suspect list seems to grow with every chapter, and the closer Claire gets to the answer the more danger she finds herself in. With the temperature well below zero, it only takes one misstep for her to find herself on a frozen lake falling through the ice and leaving the reader wondering if this could be her last adventure. The author keeps the suspense level high, and even when the crime is solved, manages to surprise the reader one final time before wrapping up a very satisfying story. Keep a cup of hot cocoa at your elbow as you turn the pages.

Vicki Delany has penned another fine Molly Smith mystery, Winter of Secrets, set in the small Canadian town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. Trafalgar is a tourist town, and on Christmas Eve the area is filled with vacationing skiers from the US and Canada, including a group of obnoxious and wealthy young men and women. Molly is still fairly new at her job, and still battling for respect on the police force while investigating an accident that sends two of the tourists into the river. When the autopsy reveals that one of victims actually died 24 hours before the accident, Molly gets an opportunity to accompany the local detective in the investigation. Having grown up in Trafalgar, she uses her knowledge of the town to help solve the mystery, despite a few rookie mistakes along the way. She discovers that these fine young men had spent almost as much time bedding the local girls as they had skiing, and that resentments abound among the town's residents. In the end, through a combination of insight and old fashioned police work (no CSI solutions here) Molly manages to uncover what really happened in this tight knit group of predatory, dysfunctional kids who managed to destroy themselves and damage the lives around them. It's enough to make any small town cop long for the peace and quiet of the off season. Vicki's intimate knowledge of small town personalities and conflicts makes this book a real treat and a nice change of pace from the avalanche of forensic subject matter that seems to dominate the mystery genre.

Tess Gerritsen continues her edition of Rizzoli and Isles with Ice Cold. The action unfolds in another remote small town in the dead of winter. Maura's in Colorado for a medical conference, contemplating a painful romantic breakup when she decides to join a group of new friends for a skiing trip.
This turns into a disaster when the group gets stuck on an unmarked road and find themselves hiking into the tiny town of Kingdom Come. Built by religious followers of Jeremiah Goode, a cult-life figure of authority who pushes the young men out of the community in order to prey on the young girls left behind. But when Maura and her group arrive, the town is empty. Twelve huts stand abandoned, yet there is food on the tables, windows ajar, beds unmade...and blood at the bottom of a set of steps in one house. With no transporation and one of their party severely injured, they must seek shelter in the abandoned homes. But it soon becomes apparent that someone is watching them. If the cold doesn't kill them, watchful eyes may, because there is something evil in the valley responsible for the destruction of Kingdom Come, and Maura may not live long enough to learn the secret of the town's fate.

The thermometer is still north of 90 degrees these days in Kansas City, but if you pick up any of these books, wrap a blanket around you, stoke the fireplace...and lock the front door. You'll soon feel a chill running down your spine.

Up to Date - Kansas City Mystery Authors Radio Broadcast

2010-09-04T08:06:00.008-06:00

If you missed the recent broadcast on Kansas City's KCUR (89.3 FM) featuring three of our home grown and very talented mystery writers, you can go to the radio station's website and spend a few minutes searching through their archives to find the show (from August 18, 2010)...

Or you can simply click on the link below, which will take you right to it, for an hour of great listening.

Nancy Pickard, Joel Goldman and Michelle Black discuss how the internet has changed the mystery genre, and why Kansas City is a great setting for crime fiction.

Go ahead, click on it! (You know you want to).

Up to Date - Local Mystery and Suspense Genre Authors

Is LA still the capital of Noir Fiction?

2010-09-03T19:02:00.002-06:00

This question is prompted by an excellent article by Tim Noah that appeared Thursday, Sept 2nd on slate.com under this link:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/procrastinatebetter/

It's a review of "A Bright and Guilty Place", a history of the corruption that plagued Los Angeles in the 1920's and played a large role in inspiring the birth of noir fiction, according to the author. The book was written by Richard Rayner and takes a look at the dark side of the City of Angels.

Raymond Chandler, James Cain and Dorothy Hughes, among others, produced classic noir fiction that set the standard for future writers of noir and established LA as its birthplace (although fans of Chester Himes and Mickey Spillane might disagree).

But Tim Noah cotends that LA is not only the birthplace of noir, but still reigns as its capital.

I don't agree with that statement.

Plenty of contenders for the crown setting of noir fiction have emerged. Cornell Woolrich, Spillane, Himes and more recently SJ Rozan, can make the case for New York City. John McDonald and now Carl Hiassen give Florida a claim to the title. And some young writers are producing excellent noir fiction in Chicago, including (but not limited to) Sean Chercover, Marcus Sakey and Libby Fischer Hellman.

There are others locales that come to mind. How about Baltimore (Laura Lippman) or Boston (Tess Gerristesen)? Take your pick and share your suggestions for the setting that truely represents todays noir fiction capital.

For myself, I'm going to say Chicago is the new capital. I'm very impressed with the breath and depth of the gritty fiction coming out of that city. But that's just my opinion.

What's yours?

It's tough to relax when you're in The Panic Zone

2010-08-31T14:21:00.010-06:00

Rick Mofina follows up his first rate thriller, Vengeance Road, with an encore performance in The Panic Zone. Both feature newcomer Jack Gannon, a top notch journalist with a tortured past. Despite recognition for his writing skills, he still must battle to win respect in the cutthroat world of the newsroom. When he isn't staring down the barrel of a gun while pursuing leads in a cafe bombing, he's fighting his jealous colleagues to keep his story alive.

And you thought your job was tough?

Rick's hero is a little different from the usual detective/private eye/FBI character we see in crime fiction. Yet we shouldn't be surprised. Journalists around the globe are often the first at a crime scene, ready to report the facts to the reading public. Yet this tenacious talent puts them in the crosshairs between cops who don't want to reveal crucial information and gangsters who don't want anyone to shine the light on their criminal activities.

Rick Mofina does a great job of showing us this hidden world and delivering a page turner that I couldn't put down.

While investigating a bombing in Brazil that killed two of his co-workers, Jack Gannon stumbles across evidence of a child adoption ring that may involves terrorism on a massive scale. His instincts and leads take him to the slums of Rio de Janeiro, to London and then Morocco. Along the way he crosses paths with a woman whose son is presumed dead but has actually been kidnapped in order to serve as the host to a deadly biological weapon.

If Jack can put the clues together, he can reunite the son with his desperate mother and prevent an international catastrophe.

A first rate thriller with a working class hero that could be anyone of us. One man can make a difference in the world. Jack Gannon proves it.

Crime (Fiction) Goes Global

2010-07-02T10:52:00.011-06:00

Americans have often used international travel to broaden their horizons and add excitement to their holiday getaways. But what can you do if you lack the money to visit such exotic locales as Rome, Tokyo, Instanbul or Nairobi?

Well, maybe you should just pick up a book. An international mystery novel, more specifically.

Thanks to the success of Stieg Larsson, author of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", publishers are frantically searching the world over for mysteries that take place the world over. And since murder is murder, no matter what language you speak, American readers have a lot of good writers to discover.

My own reading habits outside the lower 48 tend to favor our neighbor to the north, Canada, and they have some excellent crime writers who deserve a wider audience.

Vicki Delany writes a fine mystery series set in a small town called Trafalgar, with more than its share of secrets and murder.

Rick Mofina moves from British Columbia to New York and even the Middle East with his mysteries and thrillers, each setting recreated with first rate authenticity.

Sandra Ruttan pens a gritty series that is not for the feint of heart based in Vancouver. Her wicked writing easily ranks with (or above) many American best-selling authors that I can think of (and I'm thinking James Patterson, Jeffrey Deaver, Stephen King...)

Who knew Canadians could take such delight in the criminal underworld?

It's not that international mysteries are unknown here in the states ("The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", is one). But compared to overseas readers, the U.S. has been positively xenophobic.

That's about to change.

You can read more about this trend in publishing at the Wall Street Journal's book section. If you're not a subscriber, you can access the article (Fiction's Global Crime Wave) through a link on my blog:

Fiction's Global Crime Wave

Enjoy your next destination!

True Crime Tuesday - Six Year Old Suspected Terrorist?

2010-06-29T15:32:00.010-06:00

You'll be glad to know that Homeland Security is working hard to protect Americans from the next wannabe terrorist who would like nothing better than to murder as many innocent people as possible. The men and women of TSA (the people who screen you at the airport) truely deserve our thanks.

Having said that, no one at TSA or Homeland Security can explain why a six-year old girl from Ohio cannot be removed from the no-fly list. And the bad publicity this fiasco creates in the media makes their job even harder. Add to that the fact that no one at the agency will accept responsibility for it.

Here's a link to the story:

Alyssa Thomas, Age 6, Is Flagged on the No-Fly List as Possible Terrorist

Feeling outraged? Wanna write your Congressman, or even Janet Napolitano, the head of Homeland Security, to express your concern? Don't bother. Because according the the TSA, such mistakes can't happen. It's true...they have a blog on their website that says so. The media must be making it all up.

Here's the link to the TSA's official blog in which they explain that there are, in fact, no children on the no-fly list:

There are No Children on the No Fly or Selectee List

You see, according to TSA, it's the airlines' fault. And the airlines just blame the government...our government.

Where's George Orwell when we need him??

President, Warmonger and...Mystery Writer?

2010-06-24T16:10:00.007-06:00

This Republican was one of the most unpopular Presidents in the history of the United States. Newspapers referred to him as a buffoon and a monkey. The New York Tribune chastized him for "abandoning all pretense of statesmanship" by waging a highly unpopular war that even our allies said could not be won.

Most people are well aware of these facts by now. But did you know he was also a mystery writer who published crime fiction?

I didn't know George Bush wrote mystery stories, a friend said, when I began to relay the idea for this blog post.

Who said anything about Bush?, I retorted. I was referring to Abe Lincoln.

You heard right. Not only was the Great Emancipator one of our greatest leaders, he published a mystery story while still a lawyer in Illinois. Based on one of his cases, the story was published in 1846, but you can read it here:

The Trailor Murder Mystery

Special Thanks to fellow blogger Janet A. Rudolph and the Smithsonian for their research into this "Stranger Than Fiction" tale.

True Crime Tuesday - Justice On Overload

2010-06-22T21:59:00.009-06:00

Forget those crime shows like CSI that pretend to show what forensic crime detection is all about. The real story is less glamorous and a bit more complex, thanks in part to a Supreme Court decision that allows lab techs to be cross examined by defendants accused of a crime (sixth amendment right to confront one's accuser).

I sort of like that idea, even though it's inconvenient and drives up the cost of fighting crime. I think our justice system is better served if the analysts who study forensic evidence get out of the lab and into the courtroom. And it should help prevent the rare but costly mistakes that have resulted when shoddy forensic lab work or mischief comes to light (lab scandals in Detroit and San Francisco, for instance resulted in hundreds of court cases being tossed).

You can go directly to the video on the website of www.slate.com, at this link: Justice On Overload

To learn more about why San Francisco may be forced to drop hundreds of cases against accused drug dealers, check out this link:

San Francisco Crime Lab Scandal

or this one:

DA Harris Seeks to Restore Integrity

True Crime Tuesday - Bank Embezzler Makes Good

2010-06-15T21:43:00.003-06:00

Bill Porter might have remained an obscure figure, working his way upwards in pursuit of the American Dream, first as a journalist, then a banker. But then he was charged with embezzling funds from the First National Bank. Though he protested his innocence, he nonetheless fled the country. This didn't help his case, and when he finally returned to be with his family, he was arrested. Found guilty at trial, he went to federal prison for three years. End of story, right?

Well, not exactly. This ho-hum tale actually occured over a hundred years ago. And this year marks the 100 year anniversary of Bill's death on June 5, 1910. But we remember him, not because of his life as prisoner number 30664, but because of what he did after he was convicted and sent to prison. He began writing stories and sending them to magazines, and along the way became one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century.

Perhaps embarrased by his past, he wrote under a pen name, and it is by that moniker that we know him today... O. Henry.

And now you know, if not the rest of the story, at least part of it.

Read this fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal to learn more:

His Writer's Workshop? A Prison Cell

Law and Order: Au Revoir

2010-05-14T13:24:00.011-06:00

Law and Order, the definitive TV crime show drama for the past twenty years, has been cancelled. For those of you who, like me, grew up watching the series, it was a bittersweet ending.

I wish I could say I was still watching every episode religiously. But, in the past few years, I had migrated to the spinoffs. Compared to Law & Order SVU and Law & Order CI, the show was beginning to look a little dated. Frankly, I stopped watching the original after the death of Jerry Orbach, who played Lenny Briscoe. His sardonic wit and humanity made the show, as far as I was concerned.

Here's the announcement:

Law and Order Cancelled

And for those of you who remember the original with fondness, here's some commentary by one of the show's long time stars:

Forgotten Film (The movie you have to see)

2010-02-20T18:16:00.017-06:00

I'm a mystery writer and photographer who reviews crime fiction. But I also enjoy classic crime movies, and one of my favorite movies combines photography and a crime story in a first rate film noir setting.

It's titled "The Public Eye" and stars Joe Pesci & Barbara Hershey. Based on the life of the famous NY tabloid photographer Arthur Fellig, the film is set in 1940's wartime New York City. Leo Bernstein, the photographer who makes a living taking photos of other people's misery, stumbles upon a consiracy involving the mob, black market gasoline and a gourgeous femme fatale night club owner. Throw in some romance, corrupt cops and couple of FBI agents who'll do anything to prevent the public from learning about a scandal that hurts the war effort, and you've got the makings of a great film.

Here's a scene from "The Public Eye" in which Pesci's character (The Great Bernzini) convinces a mob suspect to pose for a picture as he's being booked at the police station.

Unfortunately, the movie isn't well known. Made in 1992, it was available on VHS but never made it to DVD, which may explain it's descent into obscurity. And that's a shame, because it's a classic. Joe Pesci gives a great performance, as does Barbara Hershey as the love interest. Richard Riehle, Jerry Adler, and Tim Gamble contribute solid acting. The suspenseful music score was written by Mark Isham, and features several tunes with sizzling vocals by Kevin Dorsey. If you can't find this movie for rent on tape, check ebay or amazon for used copies. You may have to pull that old VHS machine out of the closet, but it'll be worth just to see this film.

CJ Box's Edgar Award Winning Novel Is A Heavenly Read

2009-06-13T00:40:00.006-06:00

I was looking for something to read on an upcoming flight when I picked up "Blue Heaven" by CJ Box a few weeks ago. Finding something to pass the time in airports is crucial to maintaining sanity and avoiding boredom.

This novel didn't disappoint.

The story revolves around two young children, brother and sister, and an unlikely hero, a rancher who has a damaged relationship with his own son and who's facing foreclosure on a property that has been in his family for generations.

When the youngsters witness a murder while on a fishing trip, they are plunged into a desperate game of hide and seek that could cost them their lives. As the three killers pursue them, the children find refuge in the barn of the rancher, Jess Rawlins. Jess listens to their incredible tale of flight, and then makes a difficult decision to harbor them from the authorities, despite some misgivings about their unbelievable story. Perhaps it's a desire to amend for his own damaged relationship with his family, but Jess wants to believe these kids.

The novel includes an appearance by an ex-detective who can't let go of an unsolved robbery-murder case he worked for years, and which turns out to be crucial to understanding the peril faced by the kids, Annie & William. Additional characters, such as the town banker and the children's mother, enrich the plot. It seems that past history, even the history that some characters want to forget, are influencing the present, and may lead to murder, if the bad guys have their way.

This novel examines a classic theme that has been used successfully in numerous suspense/thriller stories, from Alfred Hitchcock to Patricia Carlon. A man (or woman) who struggles alone against seemingly insurmountable odds, but keeps on fighting. CJ Box has put a new spin on the theme, and it gave this reader a hell of a ride.

Happy Birthday Dashiell Hammett! (among others)

2009-05-27T14:17:00.003-06:00

Today is the birthday of Dashiell Hammett, the father of the noir mystery novel and author of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon.

Also born today was Vincent Price, actor whose stage and movie performances will be forever linked with Edgar Allen Poe.

Happy Birthday, gentlemen. Thanks for your work.

101 Things to Do Before You Die...for mystery writers (a work in progress)

2009-05-25T03:36:00.008-06:00

It seems these type of lists were red hot for a while, in many categories, like travel and dining. I thought I'd give a stab at making my own list, in no particular order. I'm up to 30 items, so it's by no means complete. Some of the entries were written with tongue in cheek, but I hope you enjoy them. If you have an idea for additions, I'm open to suggestions, and credit will be given for any I add.

101 Things to Do before You Die (for mystery writers)

Subscribe to Crimespree Magazine. Thank Jon & Jen Jordan for all their work.
Attend Bouchercon.
Take the Konrath Quiz! (http://picksbypat.blogspot.com/2008/11/are-you-konrath-fan-take-this-test.html)
Meet Sarah Weinman. Prostrate yourself before her while you chant “I’m not worthy!” Read her blog.
Read An Unquiet Night by Patricia Carlon.
Join Crimespace. Then go to Australia. Track down Daniel Hatadi (creator of Crimespace). Buy him a beer. Praise him highly in front of the other bar patrons (while you’re still sober, so they know you really mean it).
This year, query three agents a week until you snag one.
Get your novel published.
Join the Mystery Writers of America.
Visit the grave of Edgar Allen Poe, at night. Leave a rose.
Go to your local library and give a talk about your book or the mystery genre.
Buy a bottle of Maker’s Mark. Sip it while you read the August Riordan PI series by Mark Coggins. Note: There are several books in the series…you may need more than one bottle.
Get on a panel at a writer’s conference, as a moderator or participant & teach your fellow writers about a topic you’re an expert on or excited about.
Learn how to kill someone with poison and get that story published.
Write and publish a story from the killer’s point of view and make him/her sympathetic.
Ditto from the victim’s point of view, but make him/her unlikeable.
Get a book review published in your local newspaper, whether it’s the New York Times or the Small Town Gazette.
Attend the Love is Murder conference in Chicago.
Read all of JA Konrath’s Jack Daniels novels. As you read each one, have a drink from the recipe in the front of the novel.
Read The Rap Sheet and then visit all of the links that J Kingston Pierce lists on the sidebar…all 656 of them.
Meet Allison Janssen and Ben LeRoy of Bleak House Books and tell them thanks for publishing some great novels.
Attend a pitch session at every writer’s conference you attend.
Send an autographed copy of your novel to David J Montgomery, because those are the ones he keeps. Thank him. Read his blog, the Crime Fiction Dossier.
Read literary agent Janet Reid’s blog. If you get a chance to meet her at a writer’s conference, introduce yourself, and thank her for the useful advice. Then shake her tentacle.
Write a cozy, a police procedural and a thriller & get them each published under different pen names.
If you’ve never tasted it, try absinthe.
Visit Hemmingway’s house in Cuba.
Learn to read and speak a foreign language. Read a foreign language mystery novel in the original.
At your next writer’s conference, go to the lobby or main room one after all the panels are done and read one of your favorite mystery stories out loud, even if no one is listening.
Meet Julie Hyzy, president of the Midwest chapter of MWA and chat with her. Observe her optimistic and bubbly personality (you can actually hear the bubbles in her voice…it’s quite amazing). Oh, and read her books, starting with this one. She’s a very good writer.

Don't Be AFRAID to Read This Book!

2009-04-12T17:12:00.007-06:00

I've read my share of mediocre novels with half-developed characters and a weak plot.

This isn’t one of them.

AFRAID, by Jack Kilborn, starts out with a quiet evening of fishing on a small town lake. It quickly turns deadly for the residents of Safe Haven. A helicopter carrying a secret army special ops force crashes at the edge of town, and soon people start getting sliced and diced faster than you can say shish-kabob.

As the body count climbs, Sheriff Streng must confront five of the deadliest killers he has ever encountered. And the more he learns, the more he suspects that the helicopter crash may not have been an accident. What’s more, the men hunting him aren’t just killing to get their kicks (much as they enjoy their work). They’re after something…or someone.

The sheriff gets some valuable assistance from a young fireman (Josh) and a single mom (Fran), who help track down the killers. There’s a surprising boost to the story from Duncan, Fran’s 12 year old son, who responds to the horror around him with a courage that escapes most of the adults in the novel.

The villains are more than just stereotypes. Kilborn takes the trouble to get into their minds to show us why they do the things they do. We also get a wonderfully delicious ending that left me cheering for more.

AFRAID will keep you up tonight, so don’t forget to lock your doors and bolt the windows. And don’t be afraid…be very AFRAID.

Exploring the Limits of DNA Profiling

2009-03-20T07:15:00.008-06:00

This actually sounds a lot like an episode of Law & Order. Two men suspected in a jewelry theft have been freed because the DNA could not be linked conclusively to one or the other.

The problem? The men are identical twins. This doesn't even touch on the growing problem of faulty test results and understaffed crime labs around the country, but it's fascinating in its own way.

Read more about it here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509856,00.html

Under the heading "Protect Your Witness"

2009-03-15T20:18:00.004-06:00

This is probably good advice for any DA who wants to secure the assistance of a witness against a murder suspect.

Don't put your witness in the same cell as the guy he testifies against. Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a no brainer.

Check this link out to see exactly what I mean.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509231,00.html

Cell Phones - A New and Present Danger

2009-03-02T14:39:00.005-06:00

As Facebook and Myspace begin to clamp down of criminals who target their victims through the computer, a new threat is emerging. Predators are getting to their victims via cell phones. This ominous bit of news, from the Howard Scripp News Service, should frighten parents who think nothing of giving a twelve year-old a cell phone but wouldn't dream of letting them on a computer unattended.

Check out the following link to read more:

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/40901

Get out of Jail...by reading?

2009-03-02T13:37:00.001-06:00

A creative way to reduce taxpayer expense on new prisons may have been found. Judges are starting to sentence minor offendors to read a book, in order to avoid jail time. A bit unusual, but I have to say that I like the idea, as long as we don't offer this to persons who have been convicted of violent offenses. And a preliminary study shows that participants repeated their crimes only half as often as non-participants (granted, it was a small study).

It's worth a try, considering we have almost three million Americans in prison. What do you think? You can read the article at the NYT link below, then decide for yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/books/review/Price-t.html?ref=books

Edgar Allen Poe 200 Year Celebration

2009-01-25T14:49:00.002-06:00

The New York Times has created a slideshow to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of his birth, and it's well worth looking over. Most of the images come from the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. Who knew that New York had such an amazing collection? Perhaps they deserve a piece of Poe.

Check it out here:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/16/books/eapoe-SLIDE-SHOW-01-17-2009_index.html

Need gift book ideas? Ask an author.

2008-12-02T10:46:00.006-06:00

Penguin Publishing has hit on a novel idea (no pun intended) to help people fill out their holiday shopping lists. They've posted a page on their website showing what books their authors are giving (and hoping to get). The recommendations are excellent and they include a nice mix of classics (Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, George Orwell's 1984) and recent releases (Stephen King's Just After Sunset ).

You can see the entire list here:

http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/features/whattogiveget.html

Pleistocene Park? For 10 Million Dollars, Maybe

2008-11-20T01:00:00.002-06:00

It's a shame that Michael Crichton passed away recently, because I think he would have found this latest discovery of great interest. Scientists are very close to decoding the entire genome of the Wolly Mammoth, using hair fibers. What's more, they believe it may soon be possible to recreate the extinct species, and that someday mammoths could roam the earth again.

Although Jurrasic Park may still be a long, long way off, we could in our liftime see prehistoric creatures like the mammoth, dire wolf & sabre tooth tiger roaming a Pliestocene game reserve.

Almost makes me wish I was a kid again. You can read more about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/science/20mammoth.html

and here:

http://www.livescience.com/animals/081119-ap-mammoth-dna.html

Are You a Konrath Fan? Take This Test!

2008-11-09T21:25:00.003-06:00

As readers of this blog may have figured out for themselves, I'm a big fan of mystery/thriller writer JA Konrath. In fact, if backed into a corner, I'd probably admit that I'm his Number One Fan.

But, am I really?

Well, there's one way to find out. Read through this list. If you find yourself agreeing with every one of these signs, you may indeed be Joe's Number 1 Fan, or at least a hardcore fan, like me.

Top Ten Signs You're A Hardcore Konrath Fan

10. You tell everyone you meet that you are Joe Konrath's # 1 Fan.

9. You're wife tells you, "If I hear one more word about what a great writer Konrath is, we're getting divorced."

8. You get divorced.

7. You send Konrath so many fan letters, his lawyer sends you a restraining order. You frame it and hang it in your office, because Konrath autographed it.

6. You bribe the hotel clerk at the writer's conference to put you in the room next to Konrath, even though the room is actually the janitor's closet.

5. You get your first book published and the publisher sends you 20 free copies. You send one to your mom (of course) and 19 to Konrath.

4. At your first book signing, you take Konrath's latest novel instead of your own, because, after all, he's a better writer than you.

3. You shower with your right hand outside the shower curtain for six weeks, because Joe shook it at the last writer's conference you both attended.

2. You write a good review of Konrath's latest novel and post it on your blog, and you don't even get paid for it.

1. The only non-Konrath novel you own is Stephen King's Misery!

Edgar Allen Poe Gets his own Postage Stamp

2008-10-24T23:12:00.007-06:00

The US Post Office has announced they will issue a stamp in honor of Edgar Allen Poe on the anniversary of his birth 200 years ago. The stamp will be issued on January 16, 2009, in Richmond, Virginia.

The portrait was done by Michael J Deas. Here's a sneak peek at the stamp. Well done, and long overdue.

Sandra Ruttan Sets Canadian Crime Fiction on Fire with "What Burns Within"

2008-10-08T23:16:00.006-06:00

Most Americans, if they think of Canada at all, think of hockey, Niagra Falls or the Maple Leaf. The idea that Canadian culture or literature is anything other than an pastel imitation of Americana (soft-boiled at that) can be laid to rest. Sandra Ruttan demonstrates with her novel "What Burns Within" that Canadian crime fiction deserves to be taken seriously. As gritty as the best American crime writers working today, Sandra presents fiction that deals with horrendous crimes without exploiting the victims for cheap thrills. If you prefer cozies, she's not for you, but if you're a fan of tough crime fiction with well-developed characters, climb aboard. But bring along a fire extinquisher.

The plot centers around three police officers in British Columbia who worked on a case involving a brutal crime that nearly destroyed all of their careers. Now, they are drawn together a year later by different cases that gradually appear to be linked. One is a series of arsons, another a set of child kidnappings that stir bitter memories for the investigators. On top of that, a serial rapist is stalking the area, and seems to be targeting the wives & girlfriends of fireman and even the police who are responding to the arsons. The climate of fear and suspicion created by these crimes elevates the level of suspense, since the inside knowledge suggests that someone known to the victims may be involved.

Throughout the novel, several characters who at first appear to be cookie cutter caricatures turn out to have complex motives and flaws. By showing these, Sandra enrichs the story (I'm thinking particularly of Officer Tain, who is not quite the male chauvinist he pretends to be). Not only does Sandra tackle the crimes in a traditional police procedural format, she also explores the social fabric of police work between male and female officers, giving us a glimpse of a world that few ordinary civilians get to see.

Not since I read Garry Disher's "The Dragon Man" have I read an author who spends so much time developing her characters, with both their redeeming features and personality warts. It's a technique that succeeds very well. Pick up a copy of "What Burns Within", and do it soon. Sandra has a sequel coming out next month. If it's anything like this gem, it will be worth reading as well.

Friday's Forgotten Books

2008-09-18T21:34:00.010-06:00

I've been invited to write about a forgotten book in the mystery genre on the blog of Patricia Abbot, a writer and educator from Detroit Michigan, who has a fabulous site at http://pattinase.blogspot.com/. The book that I chose to write about is "The Unquiet Night" by Patricia Carlon, originally published in Great Britain in 1965. It's an excellent suspense story. You can read more about it here starting Friday, September 19, 2008:

http://pattinase.blogspot.com/2008/09/fridays-forgotten-books-september-19.html

Every Friday, Patricia introduces her readers to classic works of mystery fiction that deserve to be read but may not have gotten the attention they merit. Her blog content is well worth looking into the rest of the week as well. Check her out...and tell her I sent you.

Philadelphia Wants Poe, Baltimore Says No!

2008-09-06T09:24:00.007-06:00

It looks like the debate on which American city has the best claim to Edgar Allen Poe is still alive. The New York Times has an article in Saturday's paper that pits Philadelphia's Edward Pettit, a writer & Poe scholar, against Baltimore's Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House.

Sarah Weinman has covered this extensively on her website, but I'd like to make the case for Richmond, Virginia as the city with the best claim to Poe's legacy. The Edgar Allen Poe Museum is in Richmond (a link can be found on this blog). Besides, Poe's own words back this up. According to Professor Kevin Hayes, another Poe scholar, "Poe described himself as a Virginian and wrote that he planned to return there".

You can find the article at this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/us/06poe.html?ex=1378440000&en=f4a37c2155ca9095&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

A first novel by the son of John Le Carré

2008-08-30T09:10:00.004-06:00

Nicholas Cornwell, son of the Le John Le Carré, has written his first novel under the pen name of Nicholas Harkaway. The book, "The Gone-Away World", has lots of danger & adventure, but no spies. Nick talks with Cynthia Crossen about the book, how he picked the title and what it's like to have your parents read your work, especially when one of them is a world famous author of spy thrillers.

Read the interview here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122004370339984339.html

You can also read an excerpt, here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121993471781679817.html

Books Still Have it to Stir our Emotions

2008-08-23T00:55:00.002-06:00

According to a new study, "Books are just as powerful as movies when it comes to their potential to prod our brains into such reactions as delight, pain or disgust...".

For those of us who are writers, this is is great news...books can still compete with movies when it comes to touching us in a deep and meaningful way.

This from a posting on a science news blog! I would have expected something like this to come from Psychology Today. You can read the story here.

http://www.livescience.com/health/080821-reading-emotions.html

Konrath's "Fuzzy Navel" is a Juicy Winner (Drink Responsibly)

2008-08-16T18:25:00.009-06:00

Dirty Martini was my introduction to the writing of JA Konrath, and after I put down that book, I thought to myself, "Wow. That was a great story. But I don't think he'll ever top the chaos I just witnessed."

I was wrong.

Konrath's latest thriller takes fear and humor to a new level when he packs mayhem and murder into eight action-packed, laugh-out-loud hours. The opening chapter fakes right and then surprises you with a left hook. From there, it's all downhill (or uphill, depending on your point of view). The next few pages demonstrate a couple of acts of vigilante justice that will have you secretly wishing you could take the law into your own hands from time to time, and it's fun to watch. But then things turn nasty. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, the protaganist, witnesses several of her colleagues bite the dust. The action ramps up when she heads home to find her arch enemy, Alex Kork, has escaped from prison and has made herself at home, along with Jack's mom & fiancee. With a gun pointed at her loved ones, Jack is forced to entice Harry McGlade and Phin to join her. The ultimate aim is to force Jack to watch her friends and loved ones die...the ultimate revenge for a woman that Harry lovingly described as "Frankenbitch".

But that's not the only problem Jack faces. It seems a trio of paramilitary wannabes have decided that Jack's got to go, and they soon join the party, surrounding her home and cutting the occupants off from the outside world with some high tech jamming devices and a old fashioned pair of wire cutters.

And you think your job is tough?

This book is a real page-turner, so I recommend you buy it on a Friday. Once you start reading, you won't want to stop, so your Saturday and Sunday will be spoken for. Unplug the TV and the phone...on second thought, after reading this, you'll probably be clutching the cordless with both hands.

The best part of this latest Jack Daniels' tale is the shocking surprise ending, a cliffhanger which will leave you (figuratively) dying for more. There's quite a few twists and turns in this one, but I've managed to figure out what really happens in the end.

If you want to know yourself, you can buy the next Konrath novel, Cherry Bomb, which is due out in 2009. Or you can bribe me to learn the truth. Send me an email, and I'll send you my address. I'll reveal all for one million dollars...no, make that two million dollars. One million for me and one million for the out-of-court settlement when Konrath sues me.

At any rate, pick up a copy of Fuzzy Navel. And take a big swig. You'll be glad you did.

Best line?
Jack Daniels, "I think my work followed me home."

How To Get Boys To Read - Gross 'Em Out!

2008-08-10T08:51:00.002-06:00

The problem of how to get boys to read more has never been a big secret. We've just forgotten our target audience. What boys like is adventure, thrills...and lots of gross detail in the killing, as the Wall Street Journal reminds in Friday's article. Some of the favorite topics include Vlad the Impaler, a Romanian prince who was the real life inspiration for the story of Count Dracula.

Check out the link here, but don't read while eating:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121814900158422243.html

Scott William Carter's "The First Book" Should be first on your list.

2008-07-21T21:18:00.011-06:00

One of the great pleasures of being a writer is getting to meet other writers, even if it is only over the internet. I first learned about Scott William Carter from a posting on the discussion forums of bksp.org (Backspace, a writer's forum), and also from a post by his agent, Rachel Vater.

Scott has been tireless in his promotion of new writers through a weekly interview blog he conducts. When I contacted him about interviewing me about my first novel, he was very enthusiastic. Since then, I've discovered many new writers that I never would have noticed if he hadn't brought them to my attention.

For anyone looking for a new author to read, I can't think of a better place to start than, "The First Word". Check it out. You'll be glad you did.

http://thefirstbook.wordpress.com

Mystery Writers: Spinetingler wants you for their Archives

2008-06-20T20:26:00.004-06:00

If you've ever been published by Spinetingler Magazine, you may want to read the following. They are collecting stories for their archives, and they need the permission of their writers beore they can collect the stories. See the following message from Sandra Ruttan for more details.

The new issue of Spinetingler Magazine should be available in a few days, and the continuation of Spinetingler is due to the persistence of Brian Lindenmuth and his efforts to persuade me to at least save the Spinetingler archives by moving them to Mystery Bookspot. Ultimately, MBS adopted Spinetingler and provided me with the financial resources needed to increase payments to writers, and technical support to create and upload the issues.The new issue is, in part, a tribute to Tribe’s Flashing in the Gutters. All the stories are flash pieces or short-short stories, and some of the flash pieces originally appeared in FITG. However, we didn’t note which ones originally appeared on Tribe’s site, because we wanted to show how well the stories have stood up over time, and the caliber of the writing showcased on Tribe’s amazing site.

With Tribe’s blessing and Brian’s continued interest in making sure that important contributions to the genre are not lost to us forever, we’re now seeking permission to post an archive of Flashing in the Gutters from all writers who had work on the site. We do not wish to re-post the stories without consent, and we do expect this to be a time-consuming project, but hopefully by fall an archive of most of the stories will be available at mysterybookspot.com.

All writers can e-mail Brian Lindenmuth (blindenmuth@gmail.com) or Sandra Ruttan (sandraruttan.spinetinglermag@gmail.com) to confirm whether or not their story can be included in the archive.

Never Say Never Again: James Bond Returns!

2008-05-08T11:54:00.009-06:00

Although Ian Fleming died over forty years ago, the Bond character lives on, most notably in movies, but now, he's returning to the printed page. Sebastian Faulks is the latest author (but not the first) selected to write a new James Bond thriller after Fleming's death.

The new novel returns to the days of the Cold war, which should make die-hard Bond fans happy. With luck, it will also bring on a new group of younger fans, despite the fact they may not know the historical relevance of Sputnik, the race to the moon or the Berlin Wall. It should arrive in time for the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth.

You can read the article at the Wall Street Jornal online, here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121020673072975501.html

Tag! You're It!

2008-04-23T19:47:00.010-06:00

I was catching up on my blog reading when I stumbled across an invitation from Mark Coggins to pick up a book and quote from it. Not just any quote...a quote from page 123, the 6th, 7th and 8th sentences. So, with that invitation accepted, here goes...the results are quite interesting.

The nearest book at hand was "The Children of Black Valley" by Evan Kilgore. And on page 123, here's the appropriate quote:

"If I don't know everything about who you are and what you're doing here, I'm going to press this button. Then, it will hurt. Then, we'll start over."

Hmmm, interesting! I hadn't planned on reading this book just yet, but now, my antenna is activated. Sounds like I've stumbled across a pretty nasty character. Better return to page one, and see how we got here. As far as the context of the quote, feel free to use your imagination. I found it fairly shocking.

This feels like one of those chain letters, but with an cool twist. I'd like to send out five invitations to some people who, hopefully, read my blog from time to time (or perhaps, get lost and stumble into it).

Thanks go out to Mark Coggins for this invite.

The Rules Are:

1. Pick up the nearest book at hand (left or right...hand, that is).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.
5. Tag 5 other people (but don't contact them...let them find you).
6. Acknowledge who tagged you.

My choice to play tag!

1. Libby Fischer Hellman, author of Easy Innocence.
2. JA Konrath, author of the soon to be released Fuzzy Navel
3. Sandra Rattan, editor of Spinetingler Magazine and author of What Burns Within.
4. Julie Hyzy, author of a tasty little cozy called State of the Onion.
5. Lee Lofland, author, investigative expert and blogger at The Graveyard Shift.

There are a lot of people I could have chosen, but hopefully, there is something for everyone in this list. I can just imagine a barbeque with this group...the possibilities are endless! Maybe I should send out some invitations (I'll just make sure the fire extinguisher is fully charged...)

Easy Innocence Tackles Some Hard Choices

2008-03-16T21:48:00.004-06:00

Libby Fischer Hellman introduces a new Private Eye series with the publication of Easy Innocence, and it's a good start. Georgia Davis, an ex-cop, get hired to find evidence that might clear Cameron Jordan, an autistic man whose been accused of murdering a high school girl named Sara Long. At first, the forensic evidence against Cameron seems insurmountable, but the deeper Georgia Davis digs into the case, the more frayed ends she finds.

As these ends begin to unravel, she uncovers a number of unpleasant facts about the well-to-do and well-to-do wannabes on Chicago's North Shore. Even more disturbing, the prosecution is rushing to wrap up the case as quickly as possible. The reason soons becomes apparent, though not surprising when you remember that the rich and powerful make special efforts to protect their own.

A high school hazing that took place at the time of the murder places the prosecuting attorney's daughter at the scene of the crime, opening up the possibility that others were involved in Sara's death. And as Georgia begins to question the dead girl's friends, someone starts following her, and one promising lead winds up on a slab in the morgue. Eventually, Georgia learns some shocking revelations about Sara and her high school buddies that reveal just how far teenagers will go to maintain their status in a high school where the content of your closet is more important than the content of your character. It may lead Georgia to the secret that got Sara killed...if she can stay alive herself.

Libby tackles several timely social issues, including peer pressure, the sexualization of young girls, and the pursuit of status, all without preaching or alienating the reader. She does it by simply telling a great story. It had me guessing about the identity of the killer until the very end, and also had me thinking about this book long after I turned the last page.

How Do Reviewers Make Their Choices?

2008-03-09T16:57:00.004-06:00

Every year, tens of thousands of titles are published, and yet, only a few hundred ever make it into a print review (newspapers & magazines). With such a competitive arena, I've often wondered how those choices are made. Well, here's an article that provides some insight into the process of how books are chosen. It was posted on David J Montgomery's crime fiction blog. Some of the nation's top reviewers are interviewed in the March newsletter of Sisters In Crime. It includes another link if you'd like to download the newsletter in its entirety:

http://www.crimefictionblog.com/2008/03/the-reviewers-s.html

Mystery Fiction - Treating Women Badly?

2008-03-09T13:54:00.018-06:00

I highly recommend the book reviews by Marilyn Stasio which appear in the Sunday NY Times book section (online & print). They are often chock full of interesting and new writers, both from the US and abroad. Today's article is no exception. But I don't think that women are treated badly by the genre.

Does our fiction really treat women with indignity? Mystery fiction, that is? To be fair to Miss Stasio, allow me to quote her word for word.

"Denise Mina’s bold, brave crime novels make up for all the indignities women suffer in genre fiction — especially the notion that a female protagonist is better off being likable than being real. Mina smashed that false article of faith with her dead-grim Garnet hill trilogy, featuring a hard-bitten heroine who fights the social conditions that lead to the abuse of women, children and the elderly in a Glasgow slum."

That may have been true in the field of mystery writing fifty, sixty years ago (Nancy Drew comes to mind as a likeable protaganist). And much of noir fiction of the 40's and 50's treated women as either brainless broads or scheming sirens.

But this certainly not true of mystery now. And it didn't start with Denise Mina.

Sara Paretsky introduced us to a tough gritty heroine in 1982 by the name of V.I. Warshawski. That's just the first name that comes to mind. How about authors Sue Grafton and Terris Grimes? And many more.

One can even find good female heroines in noir fiction from fifty years ago, albeit often in re-prints. Branded Woman by Wade Miller, re-issued by Hard Case Crime is one example.

And for those of you who haven't discovered her, I urge you to read Denise Mina. But start with the original Garnethill, which won the 1998 John Creasy Memorial Award for best first crime novel.

I hate coming into a series after it's started, don't you?

Take a Leap off Maiden Rock (But Don't Forget Your Parachute)

2008-02-25T22:53:00.004-06:00

I went to Chicago recently for a writer's conference and took a book with me to read on the plane...Maiden Rock by Mary Logue. At first glance, it seemed like the perfect choice. I expected a warm and fuzzy cozy mystery, nothing too demanding, but good enough to keep me from being bored. Even the author's book flap picture was reassuring. She looks like your best friend's mom, ready to offer up a plate of cookies and a glass of cold milk. The perfect cozy, right?

Wrong. This book had me gasping for breath a third of the way into it. I wanted to rush to the end, but at the same time I was worried sick about the fate of one of the characters, so much so that I wanted to scream at her, lest she make a wrong move.

This book scared the hell out of me. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Was it the demented serial killer? The graphic gore and violence?

Nope. The horror of this book rests in the author's ability to take ordinary people, people like you and me, place them in mortal danger, and make us care what happens to them. She does it beautifully. And because we as readers know more than any one individual, we see danger coming long before the characters do. Therein lies the terror.

Maiden Rock is a traditional mystery featuring Claire Watkins, a deputy sheriff in a small midwestern town who investigates the apparent suicide of a teenage girl. But the death may not be a simple case of suicide. The supposedly safe, quiet town where Claire lives is being ravaged by a drug that is striking the community's youth like a plague. The author slowly unravels the town's secrets and we are forced to watch helplessly as first children, and then their parents, are destroyed by meth addiction and its consequences. Her descriptions of the drug's physical and emotional effects on individuals adds considerable realism to the story. Yet her sympathy for the characters (even the flawed ones) makes the tale haunting. It stays with you long after you've read the final page.

Buy this book and read it. Then let your kids read it. I promise, you won't regret it.

Mystery Genre - Does it get the respect it deserves?

2008-02-10T11:58:00.000-06:00

I saw an interesting article in the Sunday New York Times about Joan Brady, an American author living in England, who sued a shoe factory near her home for poisoning her with toxic fumes. She was awarded $230,000 damages.

As proof that she was damaged, she presented her novel, Bleedout, a mystery thriller, and claimed it was only written because she could no longer concentrate on her 'literary' novel, which she had to abandon due to neurological damage.

So, in essence, if you write mysteries, your suffering from brain damage!

Here's the link to the article. Let me know what you think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/weekinreview/03mcgrath.html?ex=1359694800&en=e4c7fdfb2a2473e2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Cast Your Vote For 'Runoff'

2007-11-17T19:54:00.000-06:00

From the very first paragraph of Mark Coggin's new novel, I was hooked. After all, it's not every day that you see a piece of construction equipment crash into the front of a bank at 2 AM. The latest in a series of mystery noir novels featuring Private Eye August Riordan starts off literally with a bang, and it's more than enough to keep the reader interested in the story.

The main problem PI Riordan tackles in this slim but action packed story is the theft of a local election through some electronic shennanigans. This is more than a little ironic, given that this technophobe PI has only recently discovered cell phones, and spends more time actually pounding the pavement questioning witnesses than he does sitting in front of a computer screen (imagine that). And the witnesses keep winding up dead, sometimes before August gets a chance to question them, and sometimes after he points his Glock 9 mm at them. But to paraphrase the Governator, "They were all bad". Even Mrs. Lee, the Dragon Lady of Chinatown, has some dubious qualities about her, and she's the client!

Riordan entertains and solves the case with an interesting cast of supporting characters, some of whom we've seen in earlier novels, such as Chris Duckworth, a friend of August and a computer whiz whose talents prove indispensable in helping to solve the case. Riordan even gets some crucial help from an unlikely source in the criminal underworld, but I won't spoil the surprise by giving too much away.

The book can stand on it's own even if you've never read anything by Mark Coggins, but if you want to start with his first August Riordan novel, look up "The Immortal Game". Otherwise, run to the nearest bookstore or click your mouse and buy a copy of "Runoff". It's a hell of a lot more fun than a real election and makes more sense. But remember these words the next time you find yourself battling a John Deere...Don't bring rocks to a tractor fight.

by Patrick Balester

Raven Bookstore in Lawrence Kansas

2007-10-19T13:33:00.001-06:00

picksbypat_blogphoto
Originally uploaded by The Public Eye

If you live anywhere in the Midwest, you'll want to check out this bookstore!

A "Dirty Martini" That Will Satisfy Your Thirst

2007-10-14T19:12:00.000-06:00

I discovered J.A. Konrath's blog after listening to a podcast interview with Chicago book critic Dana Kaye. She mentioned his blog, so I checked it out. If you're a fellow writer, you'll enjoy his advise about the writing life, and most of it's pretty useful.

But what about his books? I knew he could blog, but could he write a good mystery? I had to find out. The answer is, Yes.

His latest, Dirty Martini, is the fourth novel in a series featuring Homicide Detective Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels working in the city of Chicago. And it's a juiced-up thriller. A murderer is poisoning the food in Chicago's grocery stores and restaraunts. Jack is assigned the case by a reluctant police superintendent, not because she's the best qualified cop, but because she has a good reputation with the public.

If you've ever worked in a large, faceless bureaucracy, this actually makes perfect sense. But despite her own doubts, Lt. Daniels makes the most of it. She works the clues and pursues the killer in the face of numerous distractions, including an injured boyfriend, a reluctant partner, and a georgeous FBI agent that throws himself at her.

Then there's the killer. Nicknamed the Chemist, he is portrayed with cruel effectiveness. By allowing the reader to follow him in action as he poisons several spots around the city, our shock is multiplied by witnessing his callous disregard for human life. This is one sick puppy. And he wants a lot of money to stop the poisonings. But we don't discover his true motive until the end of the book.

Konrath keeps the action going with a diverse cast of characters that capture our attention and entertain us. I found myself laughing more than once, despite the growing body count, as the author uses a healthy dose of humor to lighten the subject matter. One fine example is Daniel's ex-partner, Harry McGlade, who comes to the rescue in several scenes. He's juvenile, obnoxious, and so funny he nearly stole the show from the main character. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a stand-alone mystery.

And for those of you who indulge in alcohol, the book contains a pretty good recipie for a Dirty Martini. I'd give it to you, but since I strongly recommend the book, why would you want me to spoil the surprise?

by Patrick Balester

This Dame Can Write!

2007-08-03T16:36:00.001-06:00

Every once in a while, I stumble across a writer who excites me, and a few weeks ago, I tripped and fell over Sandra Scoppettone. And am I glad I did. Although she's been writing for decades, first for young adults, later branching into adult mystery, she's new to me. The first book I picked up was Beautiful Rage, a mystery set in a small town, with a missing girl stalked by an internet predator. Since I love small town mysteries and the internet, I had to read it.
Sandra writes with a great deal of empathy for her characters, despite the fact that most of them are flawed. This only makes them more appealing. You won't find any cookie cutter portraits in this novel. She does a good job of building tension, and although I felt for a moment that she was rushing to the end in the last couple of chapters, she did provide a very satisfying and believable conclusion.
Then I picked up another one of her mysteries, and I was hooked. The story I'm reading now, This Dame For Hire, introduces us to one of the most original characters seen in a crime novel in years! Faye Quick is a female private investigator. And what makes that so special? She's plying her trade in Manhattan in 1943. It's a fascinating setting for a mystery story. As a history buff, I can assure you that Sandra has done her research. Her use of slang, and understanding of home front conditions convince the reader that they're really in the setting.
Even Sandra's constant use of dialect doesn't impede the story, but in fact, adds to it, and never slows the reader down. Faye is a smart and sassy protaganist who is cynical enough to do her job, but not so cynical that she can't sympathize with the people she works for, or who work for her. In addition, it's refreshing to read a story where the case is solved by old fashioned detective work, and doesn't lean on advanced forensics or computer databases to solve the crime. Faye works hard to get every answer. She's a tough interviewer and a tough broad. And she's so interesting, I'd enjoy sitting down with her after the case is solved, just to share a cup of java and a slice of lemon meringue pie, so we could chew the fat.
I eagerly looking forward to reading the second Faye Quick mystery, Too Darn Hot. After that, I don't know what I'll do, unless Sandra intends to keep the character going, and I certainly hope she does. This character is just too much darn fun to let go of. If you like noir fiction, atmosphere with a flair, or you're just a history buff, pick up one of these books. You won't regret it.